Shipping-crate.



L. MILLER.

SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19 1916,

1 %991 1%., Patanted'June 5,1917.

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L. MILLER.

SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. I9l6- 1,22 1 1 a Patented June 5, 1917.

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UNITE snares rarnfr er sion.

LEWIS MILLER, 0F OAKDALE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WILLIAM JUDSON GRIFFITH, OF OLIVER SPRINGS, TENNESSEE.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

Application filed July 19, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakdale, in the county of Morgan and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping-Crates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to shipping crates, and more particularly to a folding crate primarily designed for the shipment of eggs.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a crate which can be readily set up when required for use and folded into compact form for occupying minimum space upon its return shipment.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a crate provided with folding end walls and removable side walls, whereby the same may be packed and retained in compact form between the bottom and the top of the crate.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a folding shipping crate provided with simple but efiicient means for maintaining the parts in set up position.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a folding shipping crate consisting of few parts, simple and efficient in construction, and which can be manufactured and sold upon the market at a nominal cost.

These and other objects and advantages will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is more clearly understood from the following specification, the subject matter of the claim, and the views illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of the crate showing the same in complete set up position ready for shipment.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of Fig. 1, showing the crate with the top removed.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the top of the crate showing the construction of the under side thereof.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the parts constituting the body of the crate and showing the side walls thereof in detached position.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the crate Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 191'? Serial No. 110,069.

showing the parts positioned in compact form ready for return shipment.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the corners of the crate showing the means carried by the end walls of the crate for securing the side walls in set up position.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the means for removably attaching the side Walls to the bottom portion of the crate. I

Referring to the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, ,1 denotes the frame, upon which is secured by any suitable means the bottom 2, provided with the end walls 3 hingedly mounted upon the bottom 2 through the medium of the hinges 4E and adapted to be folded inwardly upon the bottom 2 and lie flat thereon when in folded position.

Secured in the side rails of the frame 1 are the eye screws 5, adapted to be engaged by the laterally projecting hinge bars 6 of the hinge straps 7 secured upon the outer surfaces of the side walls 8 of the crate by the screws 9 or other suitable securing means. The side walls 8 are provided upon their inner surfaces with the centrally disposed spaced parallel strips 10, and the transversely disposed end strips 11 positioned slightly remote from the ends of the side walls 8, so that when the side walls 8 are swung upwardly their end portions will engage the side edges of the end walls 3 with the strips 11 engaging the inner faces of the end walls 3 adjacent the side edges thereof, the end walls 3 being sufficiently narrower than the width of the bottom 2 so that when the side walls 8 are swung to upright position their bottom edges will rest upon the bottom 2, and for securing the ends of the side walls 8 in engagement with the side edges of the end walls 3, the end walls 3 are provided in their top edges with the triangular shaped spring hooks 12 for overhanging the top edges of the side walls 8 to engage the outer surfaces thereof. These spring hooks 12 are formed of a single strip of wire bent to form the triangular shaped hooks 12, the contacting parallel spring body bars 13 provided with the right angular and downwardly depending spike ends 14 designed to be driven into the top edges of the end walls 3 and for additionally securing the hooks 12 upon the end walls 3 and to provide for and preserve the springy action of the body bars 13 of the hooks 12 there is provided the staples 15 which are driven into the top edges of the end walls 3 and embrace the body bars 13'substantially midway between the hooks 12 and the spike ends 14. The crate is provided with the top 16 provided upon its under side adjacent its respective edges with the frame 17, the top 16 and its frame 17 being of sufficient greater length and width than the bottom 2 of the crate so that when the top is placed upon the top edges of the end walls 3 and the side walls 8 when in their set up positions, the frame 17 of the top 16 will embrace and engage the outer surfaces of the end walls 3 and the side walls 8 adjacent their upper edges, and for retaining the top 16 in secured position upon the crate the ends of the top 16 are provided with the hooks 18 adapted to engage the eye screws 19 secured 1n the outer sides of the end walls 3 in proximity to their top edges, the hooks 18 of the top 16 being also adapted to engage the eye screws 20 secured in the ends of the frame 1 of the bottom 2 when the parts of the crate have been placed in folded positions as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

If desired the crate may be divided into compartments by positioning a partition wall 21, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, within the spaces between the strips 10 of the side walls 8, this partition wall beingreadily inserted or removed when desired as the same is slidably mounted within the crate.

To set up the crate, assuming that the same is in folded compact form as shown in Fig. 5, the hooks 18 are released from the eye screws or loop members 20 and the top 16 and the side walls 8 removed, after which the end walls 3 are swung to upright position as shown in Fig. 4 and the side walls 8 are subsequently positioned upon the crate by sliding the same lengthwise in one direction so that the hinge bars 6 will be introduced into the eye screws 5, the side walls 8 are now swung upwardly until their end portions and their strips 11 engage the side edges and the adjacent inner surfaces of the end walls 3, and the hooks 12 are then sprung over the upper edges of the side walls 8, and if desired the partition wall 21 is positioned within the crate. After the crate has been filled with the desired article or articles to be shipped, the top 16 is placed thereon with the hooks 18 engaging the eye screws 19 upon the end walls 3, these walls and the side walls 8, in addition to the spring hooks 12 are further maintained in their respective cotiperative relations by the frame 17 upon the under side of the top 16 surrounding and snugly engaging the upper outer portions of the end walls 3 and the side walls 8, and in this manner of constructing the various parts of the crate the same are not only retained in their respective cotiperative relation with each other but are efficiently reinforced so as to resist any undue strains that may be exerted thereagainst, thus providing a strong and efiicient shipping crate. To collapse or knock down the crate, when returning the same in empty condition, the operation of the device is the reverse of the operation for setting up the crate and after the parts have been disassembled the end walls 3 are folded inwardly and downwardly and lie fiat upon the bot tom 2, the end walls 3 being of such a length that their top edges will just avoid each other, and thereupon is positioned the side walls 8, one on top of the other and upon the uppermost of the side walls is positioned the top 16, the hooks 18 thereof engaging the eye screws or loop members 20 in the ends of the bottom portion of the crate.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A shipping crate, comprising a lower frame, a bottom secured upon said lower frame, end Walls hingedly mounted upon said bottom adjacent the ends thereof adapted to be folded inwardly and lie fiat thereon when in collapsed position, side walls for the crate, eye screws upon said lower frame, L-shaped hinge bars upon said side walls'coacting with said eye screws to removably hinge said side walls upon said lower frame to adapt said side walls to swing against the side edges of said hingedly mounted end walls, L-shaped spring latch members carried by the upper edges of said end walls for engaging the outer surfaces of said side walls for locking said side walls thereagainst, a top for said crate and having a frame upon its under surfaces adapted to embrace and snugly engage the outer surfaces of said end walls and said side walls adjacent the upper edges thereof, and means for securing said top upon said crate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEWIS MILLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

